Brief case or the like



'March 12, 1935. s. SOLOMON BRIEF CASE OR THE LIKE Filed March 23, 1954INVENTOR Jamzw/Jolowom BY 7 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My present invention is concerned primarily with improvements in briefcases although it may 7 be embodied in other envelope type bags or casesof various descriptions.

The term brief case th'erefore is to be understood in the specificationand claimsas including all structures of a similar type.

An object of the invention is to provide a brief case which will not getout of shapeeven though it be carelessly handled and subjected'torigorous use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brief case with aself-opening flap which when released will normally spring to openposition so that material may be conveniently introduced into the casewhile therflap is out of the way.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a brief case of thereinforced type which will combine a neat and attractive appearance withruggedness and durability in use, which is of simple, practical,inexpensive construction andwhich is well suited to meet therequirements of convenicnt and rapid manufacture.

Another more specific object is to provide a brief case reinforced bymetallic reinforcing members within which the members are so :designedand so mounted that they present no sharp edges or unprotected endsiadapted to chafe or cut through the fabric of the case itself or towear away the fabric which conceals them even after a prolonged periodof use.

Another specific object of the invention is to so design the reinforcingmembers that by their own inherent resiliency they oppose permanentdistortion of the brief case and tend to keep the case, when empty,always fiat and uncreased.

Another specific object is to preform the fabric sections of the briefcase so that the reinforcing elements may be simply emplaced in preparedgrooves or channels and quickly secured in posi-- tion. 1

The invention may be more fully understood from the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying. drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a brief case embodying the invention'andshowing the cover flap sprung to its normal open position,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the brief case section which constitutes theback wall of the cover flap with parts broken away to expose the hingesprings and reinforcing members,

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the front section of the brief case,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail on the line 44 of Fig.1,

(Cl. ISO-1.6)

Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and Fig. 6 is anenlarged longitudinal sectional detail showing the manner in which oneflap actuating spring is anchored to two of the reinforcing 5 elements.

Referring tothe drawing, I have used the reference numeral 10 todesignate the sheet of material which constitutes the rear wall of thebrief: case and the top portion of which is adapted to 10 be bent overto serve as a flap 11. The front wall of the brief case is indicated at12 and the front and rear wallsare adapted to be connected in aconventional manner by gussets 13 (Fig. 4) sewed by lines of stitchingl4 and 15 to the sections 10 and 12 and to each other and to anysuitable number of partition forming members 16 which divide the briefcase into a plurality of compartments or pockets.

Many suitable means may be utilized for retaining the cover in closedposition, such means constituting no part of the present invention and Ihave illustrated the use of conventional strips 17 and buckles 18 forthe purpose. The front and rear brief case sections are made of anysuitable material such as leather, Fabricoid, artificial leather etc.,the only requisite being that this sheet material is capable of beingembossed since in accordance with my invention by a suitable embossingprocess, the inner faces of both the member 10, the flap 11 and thefront sheet 12 have wire receiving grooves 19 formed therein by anembossing or pressing out process, these grooves appearing as raisedportions or beads 23 at the exterior of the brief case which serve toenhance the attractive appearance thereof.

Inasmuch as short lengths of reinforcing wire or other material are aptto chafe or cut the channels which house them and further since a greatwaste of material is involved in stamping U-shaped reinforcing portionsout of sheet stock, I use U-shaped wire reinforcing members. The wire ispreferably resilient and of course can be readily bent into the desiredU-shape.

One U-shaped wire, indicated at 20, is laid in the U-shaped groove whichfollows the lower and side edges of the backing sheet 10. Anotherinverted U-shaped wire 21 is laid in a corresponding pressed out groovein the brief case flap, while a. third similar reinforcing member 22 ofwire is emplaced in the corresponding groove in the inner face of thefront brief case section 12.

As the wires are laid in position within the grooves 19, they may bequickly secured by the use of rivets 24 passed through the brief case ofthe case.

force and the application of a narrow cover strip such as the strip 26is thereby facilitated.

Preferably, as indicated in Fig. 4, the grooves 19 are of a depthcorresponding to the diameter of the wires so that the wires do notextend inw'ardly into the compartment forming portion The wireconcealing strips 26 follow the contour of the wire, are secured by twolines ofstitching 2'7 at each side of the groove 19 and completelyconceal the wire as well as concealing the flap actuating springs 28whichv I shall now describe- The coiled springs 28 which serve toautomatically open the flap 11, preferably connect.

the upwardly extending legs of the frame 20 and the downwardly extendinglegs of the frame 21. Qne convenient method of securing the springs tothese legs is to screw-thread the leg extremities as indicated at 29(Fig. 6) and then screw the convolutions of the spring 28 onto these legends.

Thus the ends of the legs are concealed and the spring is anchored.These springs may be soldered to the legs if desired or they may bepermanently secured in any desired fashion, it

being preferable to connect the frames 20 and 21 with the springs 28 andthen assemble the springs and these two frames as a unitin the grooves19 of the back forming and flap forming sheet 10, 11.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that entirelyindependently of the spring head, the brief case is effectivelyreinforced particularly against inward bending at the ends thereof. Thereinforcing members are so applied and so anchored that they cannotabraid or chafe through the fabric of the case. They occupy none of theavailable compartment space within the case and thereforerecedinggrooves define an ornamental bead or ridge about the peripheryof the case. Not only is the construction simplified but assembly isgreatly facilitated by pressing the grooves of the brief case sections,dropping the reinforcing members of the grooves, riveting them. quicklyin position and subsequently applying the completing strips.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described. an article in whichthe several features of this invention are embodied. and which articlein its action attains the various objects of the invention and is wellsuited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above drawing shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I.

claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A brief case including a front section and .a rear section connectedtogether to define a pocket the rear section being extendedupwardly toafford a'fiap foldable over the face of the front 7 section, reinforcingwires mounted at the side edges of the rear section and its flap formingportion and with their ends spaced apart and axially aligned, coiledsprings connecting the ends of said reinforcing wires and afl'ording aspring hinge for the flap normally tending to maintain the flap in openposition.

2. A reinforced brief case construction including a front-section andarear section, each of relatively stiff flexible material, said sectionsbeing connected together to form an envelope, each of said sectionshaving outwardly proiect ing ribs defining grooves in the inner faces ofthe sections, said grooves following but spaced from the-side and bottomedges of the sections,

and reinforcing wires lying wholly within the grooves, and means toprevent displacement of the wiresfrom the grooves.

' SAMUEL SOLOMON.

